🪩 Day 5 — The Ornament War
Shokunin - Thailand Mae Chedi Anaerobic Natural
He hung the baubles. I knocked them down. He looked at me. I looked at him. And in that exchange of glances, a new work of contemporary art was born: "Gravity: an interactive installation." Now we both pretend to understand the message. One thing is certain — on the battlefield, there were glass shards, bruised ambitions, and a need for coffee that can heal human (and interspecies) relationships. Fortunately, today's calendar holds something that can do more than many mediators — Mae Chedi from Shokunin.
🌿 Where does this coffee come from? — Mae Chedi, Thailand
Mae Chedi is a southern Thai farm/cooperative located about 1,100 m above sea level in the Chiang Rai/Chiang Mai region. It's a group of young farmers — formerly mainly tea growers — who decided to try their hand at specialty coffee and have been experimenting with modern processing methods for several years.
The varietal used in this lot, known as Chiang Mai, is a cross between traditional Catimor and SL28.
☕ Processing and taste — what you'll find in your cup
This coffee is processed using the anaerobic natural method (i.e., anaerobic + natural), meaning the cherries are fermented in airtight tanks without oxygen access, and then dried whole. This approach allows for the development of an intense, yet clean sweetness.
You can expect:
- an aroma of fresh lemongrass,
- the sweetness of tropical pineapple,
- a smooth body, like marshmallow — slightly creamy, pleasant, with good texture.
This coffee acts as a contrast to the sound of breaking glass and scattered baubles — refreshing, fruity, pleasant, and at the same time carrying the ambiance of distant Asia and the work of a small community of farmers who consciously experiment with their craft.
🏭 A few words about the Shokunin roastery
Shokunin is a roastery from Rotterdam that focuses on transparency, direct cooperation with producers, and clear roasting profiles — so that the coffee tastes good as both espresso and in alternative methods.
They select lots from various corners of the world, including less obvious places like northern Thailand — showing that specialty is not a matter of region, but of bean quality, people, and process.
🎄 Why today — and why it's worth it
Because if you already have an artist-destroyer at home who considers baubles to be objects for testing the laws of physics, at least let the coffee be emotionally stable. Mae Chedi does exactly that: calms nerves, warms the atmosphere, and gives you a moment of respite before your cat starts creating another "project."
This is a coffee that won't bring the baubles back to life... but it will make you stop caring.
0 comments